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Southwest Electric Distribution Exchange2025 Conference

Hosted by

American Electric Power

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

TimeEventEvent Location
8:00 AM – 6:00 PMRegistration Check-in & Information – ATTENDEESOmni – Third Floor Foyer
12:00 PM – 6:00 PMRegistration Check-in & Information – VENDORSAmerican Bank Center – H Garrett Pre-Function
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMSWEDE Committee Meetings 
 
  • Design Committee
Omni – Laguna Madre
 
  • Planning, Reliability & External Relations Committee
Omni – Aransas
 
  • Construction, Operation & Maintenance Committee
Omni – Matagorda
 
  • Materials, Equipment & Guidelines (Codes & Standards) Committee
Omni – Copano
10:00 AM – 11:00 AMSWEDE Steering Committee MeetingOmni – Laguna Madre
11:00 AM – 12:30 PMGolf Tournament Registration & LunchLozano Golf Center
1:00 PMGolf — Shotgun Start– Awards to follow during dinnerLozano Golf Center
7:00 PM – 10:30 PMDinner & Casino Night(Only for Conference and Guest Registrants)Omni – Corpus Ballroom

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

TimeEventEvent Location
7:00 AM – 6:00 PMRegistration Check-in & InformationH Garrett Pre-Function
7:00 AM – 8:00 AMBreakfastExhibit Hall A
8:00 AM – 8:20 AM
General Session Open – Paul Lochte, P.E. (Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Inc. and SWEDE Chairperson)
Welcome from AEP Texas - Judith E. Talavera (President & Chief Operating Officer, AEP Texas Inc.)
H Garrett Ballroom
8:20 AM – 10:00 AM
General Session – Planning, Reliability & External Relations Committee
  • Melvin Schoech, P.E. (Chair from CenterPoint Energy)
  • West Texas Oilfield Electrification – Rachel Terrell and Ruben Alejo (Oncor Electric Delivery)
  • Supply Chain Challenges, Lessons Learned & Customer Communications – Gregory Thomas (New Braunfels Utilities)
  • A Mobile Substation Case Study – J.D. Wright (CenterPoint Energy)
H Garrett Ballroom
10:00 AM – 10:20 AMBREAKExhibit Hall A
10:20 AM – 12:00 PM
General Session – Construction, Operation & Maintenance Committee
  • Scott Lee, P.E. (Chair from AEP Texas)
  • Implementing the Hot Line Tag Feature on Distribution Relays. - Scott Lee, P.E., (AEP Texas Inc.)
  • Wildfire Mitigation Resources – Walter Flocke (Texas A&M Forestry Service)
  • Underground Cable Capacitance - Ramon Saenz, P.E., (The 1898 & Co.)
H Garrett Ballroom
12:00 PM – 1:00 PMLunchExhibit Hall A
1:00 PM – 2:40 PMBreakout Sessions (see next section for details) 
2:40 PM – 3:00 PMBreakExhibit Hall A
1:00 PM – 5:00 PMBreakout Sessions continued...(see next section for details) 
5:00 PM – 8:00 PMTrade Show / Vendor ExhibitionLight Appetizers and BeveragesDinner on own...Exhibit Hall A

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – Breakout Sessions

TimeEventMeeting Room
 Breakout Sessions – Construction, Operation & Maintenance Committee  Scott Lee, P.E. (Chair from AEP Texas)227 Mustang Island
1:00 PM – 1:50 PMEmergency Response Plan, Panel Discussion – Patrick Rackley (AEP Tx), Robert Young (CenterPoint), Howard Hall (KPUB) 
1:50 PM – 2:40 PMUse of Hot Line Tag, Issues and Definitions, Panel Discussion - Scott Lee (AEP Tx), Bryan Harbuck (PECI), Joshua Lewis (CoServ), Robert Young (CenterPoint), David Burley (KPUB) 
3:00 PM – 3:50 PMReplacing Network Protectors Downtown – Juan Olivares (CenterPoint) 
3:50 PM – 4:40 PMWildfire Mitigation panel discussion – Patrick Rackley (AEP Tx), Katie Smith (Oncor), Robert Young (CenterPoint), Ezekiel Drawhorn (PECI), Martin Ramirez (PECI) 
 Breakout Sessions - Materials, Equipment & Guidelines (Codes and Standards) Committee  Michelle Galloway, P.E. (Chair from Pedernales Electric Cooperative)225 Harborview AB
1:00 PM – 1:50 PMSpecifications for Developer Provided Civil Work – Chris Skidmore (CoServ), Kyle Sauceda (Pedernales Electric Cooperative) 
1:50 PM – 2:40 PMReview of Interconnect & Field Inspections/ Standby Generator & Battery Backup – Sarah Fischer (Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative), James Turner (Pedernales Electric Cooperative) 
3:00 PM – 3:50 PMCriteria on Replacement of Field Inspected Poles – Jeff Helton, P.E. (AEP Texas), Dennis Brown (Pedernales Electric Cooperative) 
3:50 PM – 4:40 PMAEP Texas’ Experience with Smart Lighting/ Asset Controllers – Jerry A. Young (AEP Texas) 
 Breakout Sessions - Design Committee  Tommy Nylec, P.E. (Co-Chair from CoServ Electric)225 Harborview DE
1:00 PM – 1:50 PMPole Inspections Design Workflow – Roundtable 
1:50 PM – 2:40 PMData Centers; Designing Large Load Intake/Process; Load Profile Investigation – Roundtable 
3:00 PM – 3:50 PMDesign Requirements: NESC Criteria & ROW Assignment, & Easement Considerations – Roundtable 
3:50 PM – 4:40 PMProtection Philosophy Design Impacts – Roundtable 
 Breakout Sessions - Planning, Reliability & External Relations Committee  Melvin Schoech, P.E. (Chair from CenterPoint Energy)225 Harborview C
1:00 PM – 1:50 PMMaintaining Distribution Automaton and FLISR After Initial Development 
1:50 PM – 2:40 PMObligation to Serve (Service, Timeframe) 
3:00 PM – 3:50 PMGIS/Mapping Issues and its Effects on Planning 
3:50 PM – 4:40 PMDistributed Generation (DG) and Battery Storage Systems (BESS) Experiences, Including Reserve Capacity 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

TimeEventEvent Location
7:00 AM – 8:00 AMBreakfastH Garrett Pre-Function
8:00 AM – 10:00 AMGeneral Session - Materials, Equipment & Guidelines (Codes and Standards) Committee
  • Michelle Galloway, P.E. (Chair from Pedernales Electric Cooperative)
  • Limited Deployment: Early Fault Detection - Joel Cuellar Jr. (AEP Texas)
  • Evolving the Grid for Resiliency and Reliability – Alejandro Peña, P.E. and Patrick Maldonado (CPS Energy)
  • DOE Industry Convening Content: Distribution Transformer Taxonomy, Configuration Matrix and Interchangeability Matrix – Brian Rowden Ph.D. (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
H Garrett Ballroom
10:00 AM – 10:20 AMBREAKH Garrett Pre-Function
10:20 AM – 12:00 PMGeneral Session - Design Committee
  • Tommy Nylec, P.E. (Co-Chair from CoServ Electric)
  • Cable Pulling Analysis – Michael Goh (CenterPoint Energy)
  • URD Direct Bury Design Impacts – Antulio Garcia, P.E. (CPS Energy)
  • Design Tools & Considerations for Pole Sizing – T. Nylec, P.E. (CoServ)
H Garrett Ballroom
12:00 PM – 1:30 PMEthics Training & Lunch
Michael Sims, P.E., Director of Compliance and Enforcement, Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
Topic:
Professional Practice Update/Ethics: Updates on engineering ethics and Code of Conduct, Board Activities, rule and statutory changes, and general updates on Board initiatives.
H Garrett Ballroom
1:30 PMAdjourn